Kong Que finally realized that the wind had died down outside. Seeing Jiang Younian and Xie Nanzhou return just in time, he immediately tossed the chamber pot he was holding aside and began to sob, full of grievance.
"Waaaaah! Where did you two go?!"
"Why are you only coming back now?!"
"Waaaaah... waaaaah!"
The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he felt, until he broke into loud, uncontrollable wailing. Xiaoyou scrambled out from inside and clung to Xie Nanzhou, refusing to let go. Although he said nothing, Xie Nanzhou could feel the child's terror. He patted the boy’s head, letting him cling on.
The room had been riddled with holes by the strands of hair; broken roof tiles were scattered everywhere. The walls had been eroded by the hair until they looked like sponges, pockmarked with holes of all sizes, some as small as needle pricks.
After confirming that their side had suffered no injuries, Kong Que chased Axu into the bathroom as if he were driving a pig. "Don't come out until you're scrubbed clean!" Brother Tai stood guard at the door to prevent him from running away.
Too many things had happened today, and the secrets surrounding Axu were only growing. Thus, Xie Nanzhou had issued a firm order: keep a tight watch on him.
Under Kong Que’s strict supervision, Axu finally managed to wash himself a bit cleaner. Though a faint, pungent odor still lingered, it was much better than before. The village head’s house was no longer habitable, reeking of urine—the result of Kong Que and Xiaoyou’s desperate survival tactics earlier. With only two people out of five capable of contributing to the "defense," and resources running dangerously low, they had been forced to use whatever was at hand. Even the bucket of "remedy" poured over Axu had been heavily diluted.
The group packed their bags and relocated to Axu’s house. Now, it felt like a grand interrogation; they stood or sat, surrounding Axu in a tight circle. Kong Que wore an expression as ruthless as a villain in a period drama.
"Confess everything, or I’ll show you what the real world is like!" Kong Que stepped one foot onto a bench, posing like a street thug. Jiang Younian suspected he wasn't just acting—he probably had been a street hoodlum before his neighborhood was slated for demolition.
"That's enough, Kong Que. Let Xiao Jiang handle the questioning," Xie Nanzhou said, feeling that Kong Que had put on enough of a show.
"You got it, Brother Nan. Go ahead, Brother Xiao Jiang," Kong Que replied, retreating with a fawning grin, acting with utmost respect toward Jiang Younian and Xie Nanzhou. Zhao Ming, standing to the side, rolled his eyes repeatedly.
With so much happening, and old mysteries still unsolved, new problems kept emerging. Jiang Younian felt his brain was a tangled mess; he could only take things one by one. After all, the entire village had vanished, leaving only Axu in their custody. The most shocking thing was how Axu had used his own blood to repel the Lake Lady’s hair.
"Axu, why did your blood make that hair stop attacking?"
Axu glanced at the book Xie Nanzhou was holding and answered honestly, feeling cornered. "I don’t know."
"Answer properly! What kind of attitude is that?" Zhao Ming had been disgusted since eating the fish Axu had brought the night before; he had no patience for him, and seeing this attitude now, his anger flared.
"I really don't know! The village head said the Lake Lady is worshipped in the lake and we must never go near it. When I was a kid, I snuck off to play by the lake and was almost dragged in by her. The rocks by the shore cut my hand, and the moment the hair touched my blood, it let me go. Ever since then, the Lake Lady never attacked me again. She’d even toss fish onto the shore for me. I always thought... I thought the Lake Lady was my friend."
Axu blurted everything out in one breath. What? The fish weren't even caught by him, but gifted by the Lake Lady? The conclusion was hard for everyone to swallow. How could a terrifying, long-haired female ghost favor one person so exclusively? Was this some kind of ridiculous protagonist's plot armor? They all agreed that Axu must be connected to the Lake Lady somehow, but seeing the foolish boy was just as clueless as they were, they realized they would have to investigate step by step.
"Then what does 'sacrifice' mean? Where did the villagers go?"
Xie Nanzhou had already checked with everyone. After he and Jiang Younian left, they hadn't done anything to provoke the Lake Lady. They had simply stayed inside the village head’s house, as it wasn't safe outside. But then, Foolish Sister had suddenly appeared, looking entirely different—her eyes filled with a fierce, cold intent. Without a word, she and the village head had locked them inside. Then, outside, they had performed some kind of ritual, wailing and chanting. The remaining villagers had joined in, singing and dancing to an ancient, incomprehensible melody. The sky had turned, thunder had roared, and the hair from the lake had surged onto the shore like a summoned tide, surrounding the house—the very scene Jiang Younian and Xie Nanzhou had witnessed upon their return.
At the mention of the sacrifice, a guilty look flickered across Axu’s face. "Because only by sacrificing you could the Lake Lady continue to protect the village." Axu buried his head even lower. "Besides, you were supposed to be sacrificed on your first night here, but someone went outside and disrupted our plans."
At this, the group remembered Kong Que going out to use the bathroom on the first night. They had likely intended to wipe everyone out in one go, but Kong Que’s accidental interruption had left the Lake Lady with only a single wisp of hair to entangle him.
The group felt a chill in their bones. They had thought they were here to help the villagers, only to realize the entire village had been conspiring to get rid of them. And judging by how skilled the villagers were at the ritual, this wasn't their first time.
Jiang Younian recalled the village head’s cold indifference when they first arrived. He was just like an NPC in a game, having "greeted" countless other players. Many others must have come to this Resentment Realm before them, and none had made it out. The realization sank Jiang Younian’s heart to the bottom of the abyss.
Xie Nanzhou wasn't surprised by the villagers' actions; human nature was the one thing that could never withstand a test. He knew this all too well.
"And today? Jiang Younian and I weren't even here, so why the sacrifice?" Jiang Younian didn't understand. If missing even one person could disrupt the ritual, why did it work today?
"That... I actually liked you two, and I wanted you to stay and keep me company," Axu mumbled, his voice trailing off.
What? It was as simple as that? No wonder he hadn't seemed surprised to see them return for him—he had been waiting for them all along. Brother Tai couldn't contain his rage and lunged forward to beat Axu, but stopped when he saw the boy collapse to the floor in terror at the sight of his massive fist.
Overwhelmed by fury, Brother Tai could only glare at the failed perpetrator. "You think you can sacrifice us just because you want to live? Do you know? I’m a father! My daughter is only two years old! I want to live! I want my child to have a father!"
Everyone in the room was moved. Brother Tai might look intimidating, but he was just a doting dad who fought in underground matches to pay for his daughter’s milk powder. He had come here with nothing, having collapsed in the ring. Yet, every day, he would tell them about his daughter; even the smallest details were precious, cherished memories.
"Protect, my foot! I'm telling you, if you don't send the Lake Lady to her reincarnation, you lunatics are going to be finished sooner or later!" Kong Que grabbed Axu by the collar, spitting as he shouted.
Everyone had the right to live. Whether it was Jiang Younian working for expiring steak coupons, Kong Que for his demolition money, or Xiaoyou wanting to experience the life he had lost—who had the right to deprive them of their right to survive?
Axu wished he could bury his head in the dirt. He had been with the village head his whole life, but aside from keeping him alive, the village head had only taught him to read a few words. No one had ever taught him right from wrong. He had thought that doing what the village head said was "right." But now, he felt he might have been mistaken.
Should he try to make it up to them? Axu tentatively raised his head amidst Kong Que’s spray of spit.
"I... I have a way to help you get out."
"But you have to take me with you!"